Turkey Day

Kyle enjoyed his first Thanksgiving yesterday. Over the river and through the woods, to Grammy's house we went! Kyle was happy to see his Nonnie again, and enjoyed meeting his Vermont relatives. And everyone except Kyle pigged out on the yummy feast that Grammy cooked up!

There were a couple negatives though. First, Kyle went through the only two outfits he had yesterday (in less than an hour nonetheless!)...he peed through his "real" outfit and then pooped through the back-up outfit (a sleeper) I had in his diaper bag. I thought pee was better than poop, so I rinsed out the pee outfit and put it in the dryer for a few minutes and Kyle wore that the rest of the day. Needless to say, I learned that I need to keep a couple backup outfits in the diaper bag!

The other negative occurred on the drive home. We went the back roads (395 to 44) to avoid a potential backup at the Mass Pike/I-84 interchange. Other than the fact that sitting in traffic is frustrating, we did this mostly because Kyle starts crying as soon as the car stops moving (or even slows down). It was smooth sailing, and Kyle was asleep, until we got off 395 and had to stop for a police checkpoint in Putnam. I guess they were checking for registration, seatbelts and drunk driving. Of course this was enough to wake up Kyle and he proceeded to SCREAM the rest of the ride home (which was about 40 minutes). So our plan backfired on us!

Sleepyhead

Kyle has been a big sleepyhead since his shots. I had heard that it may have that affect on him, and boy did it ever! He slept on me for hours today (and last night), and I loved every minute of it! He hasn't slept that long on me (or really at all!) since those first few days home from the hospital. So I guess the bright side of him getting shots is that he gets really sleepy and cuddly. He doesn't seem to have a fever or be in any pain...just very groggy. Hopefully he'll stay sleepy through the night!

2 Month Checkup

Kyle had his 2 month checkup today, which included his first round of shots. Obviously, I wasn't looking forward to this, but I wasn't dreading it either. It definitely hit me harder than I was expecting though. I actually cried (not hysterically, just tears in my eyes) when the needles went in and he let out this sad, weird cry that I've never heard before :( It was the same feeling (only a billion times stronger) I get when bringing our cat to the vet...he's shaking and terrified and I can't explain to him why he's there. Poor little guy! He's asleep on Jared right now and seems to be recovering okay.

He now weighs 11 lbs 15 oz and is a little over 24 inches. I was disappointed with the weight, as it's on the low end of "normal" gain since his last appointment. But I was also expecting it, since he gets so squirmy/gassy while nursing that I don't think he eats as much as he'd like. I think I'll have a lactation consultant come to the house, to see if there's anything I can do to improve his nursing. The doctor is comfortable with his weight though and told me not to worry about it, and not to supplement with formula or wake him up in the night to eat. He doesn't need to see him back until 4 months but said I could bring him in before then to get him weighed if I wanted. It's funny how it always seems like everyone's babies are in the 99th percentile, so I just assumed ours would be too (especially since Jared and I are both "top percentile" folks ourselves). And here Kyle's only in the 37th percentile for weight (76th for length). Oh well, the doctor says he's healthy and doing well, so I know I shouldn't worry. I just wish nursing was an easier, more comfortable experience for him!

The Napster

Kyle, a.k.a. "The Napster", took his longest nap ever today...almost 3 hrs! And the best part was his timing...he fell asleep right at 1pm (kickoff) and slept until almost 4pm (halfway through the 4th quarter). What a thoughtful little fellow he is, allowing us to watch the Pats game in peace.

It's the weirdest thing...the last 3 mornings, after he wakes up and is "talking", Kyle rotates himself 180 degrees in the crib, meaning he starts with his head at one end and ends up with it at the other. And he does this while fully swaddled in the Miracle Blanket! I've seen him in action...he uses his butt as the pivot point and rocks/wiggles his way around. It's a tight fit around 90 degrees (the short length of the crib), but he makes it through. And fortunately he rotates clockwise, which keeps his swaddle in tact (if he went the other way he would pull it apart). As Grammy said, he could rotate a full 360 degrees in the night and we'd never know!

Kyle's First Bottle

Kyle (on his 2 month birthday) had his first bottle today and enjoyed every last drop! I pumped this morning for the first time and got a little over 3 ounces...not a full meal for him but this was just a test to see if he'd take a bottle. Jared gave it to him and he took to it right away. When he finished, he looked at Jared and cried, as if to say "where's the other one"?! So I'll have to start building up a supply, so that I can leave the house for more than a couple hours...what a liberating feeling that will be! And it's definitely nice bonding for Daddy and Kyle.

Sound Sleeper

So I "reprimanded" Jared this morning when he thundered down the stairs around 5:30 to eat breakfast, because Kyle had just fallen back asleep after his feeding and Jared's "thud thud, thud thud" woke him up (although fortunately he fell back asleep). So why is the title of this post "Sound Sleeper" you ask? Well, I tried to fall back asleep after this but couldn't. So I decided to get up and have some quiet time before Kyle woke up. Practicing what I preach, I very quietly descended the stairs, when all of the sudden "WOO WOO WOO WOO"...I had forgotten to turn off our security system and tripped the motion detector and it is the LOUDEST sound you can imagine!

The few times I've accidentally set off the alarm, it literally has me shaking and my heart racing for about 15 minutes after I shut it off. It is just truly the loudest, most piercing sound you can imagine. So as I'm racing to the keypad to shut it off, I'm not even thinking "oh shoot, I woke Kyle up" (that's a given), but instead I'm thinking "oh my gosh, I've permanently damaged Kyle's hearing!". So I shut it off, the security company called and I gave them the password and told them I was fine. And then I looked at the baby monitor and Kyle was still sound asleep! I was absolutely shocked and sat there watching him on the monitor for about ten minutes until I saw a little movement (so I knew he was alive because I couldn't imagine sleeping through that noise!). I think Kyle is turning a corner in the sleep department...yesterday's hour nap turned into a 2+ hr nap and now he slept through a 70,000 decibel sound! And he's still asleep now. Go figure!

It Finally Happened...

Kyle has been napping in his crib for over an hour!!! As usual, the nap started out with me rocking him to sleep in the glider and then I put him in his crib around 1:45. He woke up minutes later, but I decided to take a shower anyway and just let him cry. When I got out around 2pm, he was asleep, and has been asleep ever since (it is now 3:15). HOORAY!!!! It is truly amazing how long an hour feels! And I'm going out to dinner tonight with Julie, which I am very much looking forward to (my first time dining out since Kyle was born). And tomorrow is Friday. And next week is a short workweek for Jared. Definitely a good day today!

Kyle's Rules

Kyle has very definite "rules" on how to handle him:

Rule #1 - Must hold me at all times (except for brief 15 minute "play sessions" on my playmat, bouncy seat, swing, crib mobile).

Rule #2 - Must sing and dance while holding me. Sound and movement must be continuous...no stopping to catch your breath. And sometimes singing doesn't do it for me and you have to make other creative sounds, like "WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE".

Rule #3 - Under no circumstances are you allowed to sit. Even if you keep singing/rocking me, this is still unacceptable.

Rule #4 - Don't try to get me to nap during the day. Occasionally though, if I'm feeling generous, I'll reward your efforts with a nap half as long as it took you to get me to sleep (e.g. rock me to sleep for 30 minutes and I'll sleep for 15).

If you follow these 4 simple rules, Kyle is a really easy baby! Grammy did a good job obeying his rules today and gave me a very much needed break...thanks Grammy.

I almost forgot...

Happy 8 week birthday Kyle!

Where does time go?

Looking back, what the heck did we do with all our time before Kyle was born? I always felt like we were busy, but I can't tell you exactly what used to fill our evenings and weekends. Now time just seems to fly by, and I never get done what I want to get done (except for hanging out with Kyle of course).

Even though I feel like I didn't stop all weekend, this is all that I have to show for it: cut Jared's hair, made a batch of chili, opened a 529 account for Kyle, sold my old cell phone on eBay, and did 3 loads of laundry. Doesn't sound like much, but somehow that (and caring for Kyle of course, although Jared pretty much takes over on the weekends, except for the nursing) took up the whole weekend!

Oh, one other thing I did this weekend was order Size 2 diapers from diapers.com. I don't have a good handle on diaper prices, but there was a coupon code in Parents magazine for $10 off an order of $50, with free shipping (code = "PARENTS11" if anyone's interested). So I ordered the largest case of Size 2 Swaddlers (184 ct) and "trivisol" drops (a Vitamin D supplement that all breastfed babies are supposed to take in the winter). As luck would have it, it came to almost exactly $50 before the $10 off. Seemed like a good deal. Unfortunately, Kyle's Size 1 diapers are really getting tight on him. This is unfortunate because we way overbought this size and have about 175 diapers left (3 unopened packages that were part of a case so can't be returned). Live and learn...

And for those interested in Kyle's sleep last night (namely, Grammy), he slept from 10-4, and then off and on for brief periods ever since. So I've been awake since 4am, and Jared has basketball tonight, so it's going to be a VERY long day!

Endless Attempts

It seems like the last few days/nights have been filled with endless attempts to get Kyle to fall asleep. The not sleeping during the day was bearable when he was sleeping so well (and falling asleep so easily) at night. But the last 3 nights, it has taken us 3 hrs to get him asleep, and he's been sleeping less than 6 hrs, instead of 7-8. Oh well, I know everything is just a phase (the good and the bad), but it's just so frustrating that getting a 7 week old to fall asleep is such a challenge!

I am still determined to get him to take a nap during the day though. I just spent almost an hour rocking him and he's now been asleep in his crib for almost 30 minutes. It would feel like such an accomplishment if he'd nap for at least an hour in his crib. I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

Must go order the NFL Network now, since our local networks are not allowed to broadcast tonight's Pats/Jets game.

Happy 7 Week Birthday Kyle!

Yes, today is Kyle's 7 week birthday. He was very smiley for his 7 week "photo shoot"...


One pleasant surprise today was that Jared didn't have basketball tonight because of Veterans Day, so I didn't have the super-long day that I was anticipating :)

And to update my previous post, the crib nap only lasted about a half hour :( I'll try again tomorrow.

Firsts

A few firsts have occurred in the last 24 hrs:

1) I was alone in the house, without Kyle! Jared took him for a long walk yesterday, and I used the time to clean the upstairs (I had cleaned the downstairs on Saturday). Maybe I should have used that time to lie on the couch and do nothing...

2) I drove in my car without Kyle! Yes, I ran a few errands last night...picked up photos at CVS, returned a ton of online purchases to Old Navy, bought some picture frames at Michaels and got gas. Errands have never been more enjoyable...I'll have to start doing that more often.

3) I may be speaking too soon on this, but Kyle has been asleep in his crib for about 30 minutes now. As you know, he does NOT nap during the day. But I was determined to get him to take one today, so I rocked him from a hysterical state to sleep over about a 45 minute span and am now enjoying the fruits of my labor. If he sleeps in there for at least 1 hour, I'll consider it a nap...his first one ever in the crib!

Real Outfit!

It took almost 7 weeks, but Kyle actually wore a "real" outfit today (i.e. not a sleeper). Unfortunately, I had "misfiled" these 3 month jeans in his 6 month drawer. So I basically missed the window on them because they're now a bit tight/short. But that's actually good news because Kyle has lots of cute 6 month outfits to wear (thanks to cousin Alex!).

Kyle slept from 10-6 last night, and then from 7-10. So Jared and I are very well-rested! And thanks to Nonnie, we now know why Kyle doesn't sleep during the day...he's his daddy's boy :)

Loud Walk

I just took Kyle for a walk, hoping to get him to fall asleep for a little bit, because that's what babies do on walks, right? Grammy, you know better (like mother like son). Well right around the halfway point of my loop (about 1.5 miles from home), Kyle started crying and it just kept getting louder and louder. So I started doing different things with the stroller to try to calm him down...swerving, figure 8s, going backwards, spinning in circles, etc. I must have looked like a lunatic! He'd calm down while I was doing these wild maneuvers, but would start crying as soon as I resumed the traditional forward motion. Eventually though, I just forged ahead, with him still screaming. Fortunately, I had my iPod so was somewhat able to drown out the crying. Not the most relaxing walk I've ever taken, but he did finally fall asleep a few minutes before he got home. So I left him in the stroller on the back walkway (and I sat on the deck), hoping he'd sleep for a while. But that didn't happen...he woke up about 15 minutes later. He's definitely challenging during the day, as he just won't nap! But he is sleeping great at night, and that's half the battle!

Milestone?

Grammy and I were playing with Kyle on his playmat today and decided to give him some tummy time. After holding his head up for a little while, he rolled over onto his back! This could have just been a fluke, because my books say he's a few months early for that. But he is a strong little fellow, so who knows!

Kyle wasn't quite his easy Wednesday self today...Grammy got a little flavor of his evil twin, the one that cries a lot! But we had a nice visit, and walk through the neighborhood. Grammy was a little hot on the walk though. It was almost 70 degrees out and she had on a jacket, wool sweater, turtleneck and undershirt :) I was sweating in my one layer!

Hopefully Kyle will have a night like last night...he slept for almost 8 hrs straight!

Busy Day

Kyle and I had a busy day today (he was well rested after sleeping for a 7+ hr stretch last night). We headed to the polls around noon, which I would think is one of the busier times of day (lunch hour). But there was absolutely no wait...just walked right through. I don't understand these places that have mile long lines! I've voted in 4 presidential elections now, in 3 different towns, and have never waited for more than a couple minutes. It really is too bad that they can't come up with a hack-proof online voting system. Think of all the time/money/trees that would be saved!

From there, we picked up Grammy and visited Kyle's Grampy at the cemetery. Kyle enjoyed hearing us talk about his Grampy. And the weather was perfect. On the way home, we stopped and picked up some apples at Bolton Orchard. I should mention this was the first time that Kyle has cried for any length of time in the car (I'm worried!). So I dropped Grammy off and then drove around while she was getting the apples, because he would have become hysterical if I stopped. Then, Grammy made a delicious pizza for us. After a fun visit, we headed home and are watching the election coverage. This just in...Obama is projected to win Massachusetts ;)

Oh, and this morning, we bought stocks for the first time. All our other investments are mutual funds, but this seemed like a good time to "dabble". I could definitely see myself getting into this! I love numbers/statistics and I think it will be fun to follow (kind of like fantasy sports teams!). Jared did all the research, and I just clicked the mouse. But maybe I'll educate myself and become a day trader...

Kyle's Official

Kyle's identity is now very well documented. He and I took a little field trip to the town hall today and got a copy of his birth certificate. And then when I got home, there was his social security card in the mail. With all these documents, I think he's ready to vote tomorrow!

6 Years!

Yes, today marks 6 years of wedded bliss for Jared and me. And since going out to eat isn't really an option these days, we decided to get lobsters for our anniversary dinner. I'll start off by saying that the lobsters were delicious! But the meal ended up being a bit of a "challenge". As hard as we tried, we could not get Kyle content anywhere (swing, playmat, papasan, etc). And this was after he did not nap AT ALL today (for the second day in a row). So as much as we wanted to have a nice 20 minute meal together, it didn't seem possible so we decided to eat in shifts. I was going to eat first, because I only eat the "easy stuff" on lobsters (meaning I'm quick), whereas Jared likes to pick out every last fleck of meat.

Jared thought they were softshells, but I quickly discovered that they DEFINITELY were not. And I couldn't find our lobster crackers (or even a nutcracker) anywhere. The last I remember using the crackers was at our apartment, so maybe they somehow got lost or thrown out in the move. These shells were impossible!! After struggling and cutting up my hands trying to break them apart, I knew I needed Jared's assistance. That's when Kyle gave us his anniversary gift...a 25 minute nap in the swing! So Jared was able to join me at the table. And with the aid of a garlic press (the closest thing we could find to a lobster cracker), he was able to successfully crack open the lobsters. But boy was it messy! Shells and juice were flying everywhere...all over the table, floor and us. So it wasn't exactly a relaxing, romantic anniversary dinner (and not that we thought it would be with a 6 week old!), but we're glad we got them. Despite all the effort required, they really hit the spot. And the kitchen has since been "hosed down" and we've each taken showers. So all's well that ends well.

Didn't Kyle do a good job taking this (cheesy) picture of us?! ;)

Happy Halloween!

As you can see from the photo, Kyle was very excited about his first Halloween! He went out trick-or-treating (in his stroller) on Grammy's street with a couple monkeys and a bear. Oh, and a witch...sorry Grammy! Alex, Rachel and Evan were fun to watch as they bravely walked up to houses. And they were VERY excited about the candy! Kyle passed on the candy, as he's very committed to his milk-only diet, but he had fun being part of the gang.

And I know they say babies Kyle's age can't get on a schedule, but he's slept from 11pm-5am and then 6am-9:30am the last three nights. Coincidence? I hope not!